I spent an hour last night talking to Alex Lawson of Strengthen Social Security.
Make no mistake. There is a Beltway consensus to cut Social Security benefits--that they're gonna raise the retirement age, and also reduce the COLA. They just have to find a way to do it that will leave nobody accountable.
As Alex said, SS is the most successful government program in American history, providing vital insurance for unpredictable catastrophe and for the predictable reduction of income in old age. SS uses an elegant self-sustaining funding mechanism that will go on forever if left alone.
Our oligarchical elite has no intention of leaving it alone. They've had the program in their sights for at least the last fifteen years. But they have to find an unaccountable, non-democratic way to gut the program. Last try was the President's B-S commission.
Next up, the lame duck session.